He Didn't
by Pebble Dancer
Summary: 100 years ago, the Avatar was supposed to bring peace to the world. The Avatar was supposed to Energybend Ozai's energy away. The Avatar was supposed to win.


**He Didn't**

Chapter 1 – Oh, Fire's Back On

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. I assure you I would have slapped M. Night the moment he walked into my office if I did.

**A Quick Author's Note:** While there are little tidbits of info, I will go a little deeper into it within one to a few chapters. Also, this is my first fanfiction in a few years, so give me a little slack with your criticism. I'm not saying to ignore every problem, but do not act like I should know everything there is to know.

100 years ago, the Avatar was supposed to defeat Ozai. Energybending was supposed to remove Ozai's bending. The world was supposed to experience an era of peace now that the Avatar had returned.

It didn't.

The walls of Ba Sing Se were only conquered once in the last one hundred years, and for a few minutes, when the massive rail cannons sitting atop the newest walls were failing, and the Swamp Nation's sharp, quick tanks were firing away, the mighty "super city-state" would be conquered once more. It was thoughts like these that filled the minds of the young Fire and Swamp Nation soldiers as they hid behind the walls of the outlying apartment complexes of the city's outcasts. They were not the only soldiers there, though. Cloud Union, Western Air, even the five remaining countries comprising the old Earth Kingdom were marching upon this city. With the entire world moving upon Ba Sing Se, they thought the city had no chance at all, but as the sky went dark, their hopes were momentarily dashed by the largest earthquake the world had ever known.

The ground under them crumbled and cracked, their main tank division falling into a deep abyss. The sound of grinding and crushing filled the air, drowning out the sound of anguished screams erupting from the invaders. Even men atop the walls of Ba Sing Se turned their heads and cringed in horror. They had no idea what was happening.

"General Iroh, what is going on!" A Fire Nation soldier named Shiro yelled out, barely avoiding falling into a fissure. Although Shiro was not but a colonel, he was Iroh's favorite soldier.

"I think I know what's going on… I just didn't know they could do it after so long… or that they'd go to such drastic measures..." General Iroh mumbled, glaring in the direction of a gigantic building in the distance, mostly obscured by the obstacle ahead. General Iroh was a man of 40, named after the man who led the original liberators of the city-state. Stress from having to deal with such a war had grayed his long hair early. His eyes were a dull gray, common among the countries' people; he had a light tan, and was wearing the dark brown and gray camo shirt and pants of an Army man on the continent of Terra.

"It appears that there's more than a few benders..." Iroh said, looking down.

"Impossible! The last Earthbender died 20 years ago, around the time Sozin's Comet was destroyed!" Shiro yelled, shaking his head wildly.

"The only thing that could help us..." General Iroh stopped when he felt a pulse of energy go through him.

" G-General, w-why is the sky orange? What is happening?" Shiro cried, panicking, staring at the bright orange sky. The general looked behind him, seeing a bright flame in eastern skies.

"I'm no scientist, but I think that's a piece of Sozin's Comet that maintained its orbit.…" General Iroh said, a wild smirk spreading across his face. In front of him, the earthquake only grew in strength.

" Shiro, get behind me… I shall show you what Sozin's Comet can do when combined with such a spirit-rich area." General Iroh said. Shiro followed his command as the general held out his hand and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, causing fire to erupt over his hand. Everything suddenly seemed to freeze: the world's soldiers, the Ba Sing Se soldiers, even the earthquake stopped.

"So much spiritual energy unharnessed…." He stated after he exhaled, more fire pouring into his hands until it was as large as his chest. He roared and sent the fire in his hands barreling out towards the wall before inhaling and bringing his arms towards his chest. The fire stopped just in front of the wall and flew backwards, rolling itself into a ball which called more fire on to it. The ball pulsated and grew to almost three times the height of the general before the reds and oranges began to turn into a bright blue, then to a bright white. General Iroh stumbled, his breath becoming more ragged as the heat struck him. The white fireball nearly collapsed, but the general forced it down to a purple ball the size of his head.

"Yes… This will serve as a proper retaliation…" General Iroh thrust his hand forward, propelling the ball towards the city. At this time, the Ba Sing Se soldiers snapped out of their surprise and began to scatter, but it was far too late. The ball soared over them and moved towards the center and the general began to create a second one.

"General, you're a Firebender?" Shiro shakily asked. Iroh chuckled as he launched the second one beyond the wall. Shiro's answer came in the shape of the skyscrapers in the horizon vanishing into a massive ball of fire. The ball slowly ascended into the clouds, bringing up a pillar of smoke. The second ball impacted the second wall, annihilating it.

"Men, shield your eyes!" He yelled, bringing his hand up and sending a wave of white fire sweeping towards the walls. Ba Sing Se soldiers, looking like ants to those on the ground, were thrown into chaos by this. While the dots scattered towards a tower, some even dropped off of the bridge, preferring the earth, even to their grave. When the white fire crashed into the walls, it blew them backwards. The walls did not disintegrate, nor did they collapse. They were simply blown away.

"Chaaaarge!" General Iroh yelled in a guttural voice, fire spewing out of his mouth. Every Ba Sing Se soldier who saw it scrambled in all directions, most towards what remained of the urban center.

After nearly three generations of "normalcy", bending had returned.

**A/N: ** Reviews, especially constructive criticism, will be appreciated. Also, can you tell exactly what happened just from the tidbits?


End file.
